Born and raised in New Jersey, Rob Adler was bitten by the acting bug at the early age of five. He grew up spending his summers in the theater, and decided to pursue his interests. When he was 14, he attended New Jersey’s Summer Arts Institute at Rutger’s University. He then signed up as apprentice to renowned theater directors Christopher Martin, Martin, Richard Edelman, John Valva and the late great actor William Hickey in Woodstock, NY. He has also studied acting in the United Kingdom with Fiona Shaw and Alan Rickman at the British American Drama Academy. Adler was also educated in The Theater School, DePaul University, where he was cast in the premiere of Clifford Odets’ lost play I Got the Blues. He received enthusiastic reviews, and he soon found himself as an apprentice to David Avcollie at the Players Space. He then studied Theater Games with Paul Sills in Wisconsin.
This extensive range of experience earned Rob Adler the LA Weekly Award for Marat/Sade at Sacred Fools. He soon got the privilege of taking part in the world premiere staging of Waiting for the Electrician or Someone Like Him at the Firesign Theater. He performed in Bertolt Brecht’s Drums in the Night, alongside Tim Robbins’ Actors Gang. He event ventured into directing, and is credited for Tell Veronica at the Hudson Guild, and Orson Welles’ Moby Dick Rehearsed at the Bootleg Theater. He worked with Joe Mantegna and Jean Smart for the Will Geer Theatri!$#!# Botani!$#!# production of Rise & Shout. Adler directed and starred in the award-winning ZHX Soundscape for the Chicago Improv Festival. He directed Tastes Like Home, and performed in Mayfly and Slew. He has also appeared on several Shakespearean productions, including a multi-year touring run as Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He continued his career as a theater teacher, working all over Los Angeles and the United States. Adler then landed a spot as faculty on the ABC series High School Musical: Get in the Picture.